Welcome to The Refresh, a weekly newsletter from Marketecture Media. Every Thursday we’ll bring you the latest advertising news, commentary, and memes.
FreeWheel Announces Expanded CTV Partnerships With Streaming Platforms (Adweek)
MadTech Unveils MadConnect for Agentic Marketing and Advertising (BusinessWire)
Ulta Beauty hires VaynerMedia—behind their ‘modern AOR’ relationship (AdAge)
Mars to switch $1.7 billion media account out of WPP (Campaign)
Disney, NBCU sue Midjourney over copyright infringement (Axios)
Quality Over Chaos: Heather Carver on Building a Smarter AdTech Future
Heather Carver, Chief Revenue Officer at Freestar, reflects on her career path in ad tech and shares insights into the shifting landscape of publisher monetization. She dives into the growing role of AI, the value of curation, and why she’s bullish on the future of advertising technology.
Brand Safety Scandals, AI Missteps, and FTC Crackdowns
Kait recaps a surprisingly intense week in advertising, from brands unknowingly running ads on explicit sites, to Meta’s leap into fully AI-generated ad creative, and a fresh FTC probe targeting media watchdogs. It’s a week that spotlights the growing tension between automation, accountability, and advertiser trust.
Warner Bros. Discovery to Split in Two
Warner Bros. Discovery will divide into two separate public companies by mid 2026, one focused on streaming and studios and the other on traditional TV networks. The move aims to give each business more focus and flexibility as the industry shifts from cable to streaming. Debt will be split between the two, with the networks unit expected to generate strong cash flow.
Amazon vs The Trade Desk: DSP War Heats Up
With Google still leading in DSPs, the real fight is between Amazon and The Trade Desk for second place. Amazon is pushing hard to position its DSP beyond its own ecosystem, offering no platform fees and rich first-party data. The Trade Desk is countering with a global rollout of Kokai updates and new tools like Deal Desk, hoping to rebound after a rocky Q4.
Amazon’s product still lags in support and usability, but it's catching up fast. Media buyers are asking the big question at Cannes: do savings beat features?
I think a DSP war is a good thing. Yes, I love a good fight. Competition drives better products. Just don’t let it end in another monopoly—we’ll be watching closely.
WPP Media Cuts Ad Forecast and Signals Creator Content is Now King
WPP Media has revised its 2025 global ad revenue forecast down from 7.7 percent to 6 percent, citing economic uncertainty and weaker outlooks in the US and China. But the bigger story may be the shift in where those ad dollars are going. For the first time, more than half of content driven ad spend will go to creator platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
WPP Media says the line between professional and user generated content is blurring fast, as creators now produce shows for major streamers and traditional media companies push content to social platforms. With lower overhead and more room to invest in AI and ad tech, creator driven media is growing rapidly and is expected to hit 184.9 billion dollars this year and double by 2030.
This shift is a big reason why Marketecture Media is focused on content creation. As media dollars follow creators, it's clear that owning content, whether educational, entertaining, or both, is critical to staying relevant. Content is not just king, it is our whole business model.
Layoffs Keep Rolling as 2025 Cuts Hit Major Studios and Media
Despite being well into 2025, media and entertainment layoffs show no signs of slowing. Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, and countless others have initiated more job cuts many citing the ongoing collapse of linear TV, streaming growing pains, and broader macro uncertainty. Recent wildfires, post-strike recovery, and economic volatility have only added pressure. From legacy media giants to digital upstarts like NowThis and The Messenger. Its really unfortunate that layoffs have touched every corner of the industry but hopefully we see a better 2026? maybe.
Google Fights to Stay on Top But Search as We Know It Is Already Dying
At Google I/O, CEO Sundar Pichai showcased the company’s AI-powered search tools in a bid to prove Google can still lead. But signs of disruption are everywhere. Google’s search traffic dipped in April, while ChatGPT and Perplexity soared over 180%. Even Apple confirmed Google searches in Safari fell for the first time ever. Internally, Google admits it may have to let its own AI, Gemini, cannibalize search to stay ahead.
As for my perspective i think search as we’ve known it for 25 years is dying. It might not vanish overnight, but AI has fundamentally changed how people find information. Whether it’s ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini, the shift is already happening and accelerating. The future is be about direct answers, personalized results, and intelligent tools. We should all start adapting now.
AdTechGod crashes ADWEEK house
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